Adjusting the DIN setting either compresses or decompresses a spring. That compression determines just how much force is required for the bindings to move and spit out the boot. It’s simple physics, right? How do you spell ACL?

The technician looks at your bindings, frowns, and then consults a chart. Finally, after not finding your binding model number listed, he shrugs and says, “we can’t work on these, they’re too old.” Here we explain why, and offer the latest available data on indemnification.

Live free or die, right? Fine by me, I don’t wear mine all the time either. But the slopes have changed since the days gone by, skiers are faster on today’s corduroy and collisions are nastier. So all in all, helmets aren’t a bad idea. Here we tell you how to size ’em, and how to pick one out that doesn’t itch and drive you NUTS.